Victorian Literature: Influential Authors and Themes, Dispense di Inglese

Scarica Victorian Literature: Influential Authors and Themes e più Dispense in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! INGLESE . REFORMS After the influence of John Mill ( the laissez-faire policy ) Parliament approved a lot of reforms to guarantee modern services and institution to calm down people and prevent the risk of social revolution. Central Board of Health: improvement of sanitary conditions • The education Act: primary school and universities were opened to people of all creeds • The reform Bill: right to vote to factory workers • The trade union Act: legalised workers’ unions ( sindacati ) • Two reform Bills: extended right to vote to agricultural workers and miners • SOCIAL SITUATION In the second half of 19 century Britain was in a situation of economic depression, because increased a competition with USA and Germany for the production of gods and those states applied a tariff barriers to keep out the goods that come form other states. At the same time there was witnessed a new divisation classes: The aristocracy ( landowners ) • The middle class ( bankers, merchants, ecc… ) • thanks to industrialisation and technological progress increase the power of middle class that own money and power and, become more important respect aristocracy The working class ( factory and agricultural workers ) • These classes are very far one to the second one ( two nations rich and poor ) The condition of workers was terrible, in fact there was: overcrowding • Houses with bad sanitary condition like no piped water • Many workers lived in damp and airless cellars • Typhus and cholera ( were common ) • Increase of delinquency and prostitution • For these reasons was born socialism in Britain ( first in Europe ) with Karl Marx and his theories of British economy. British socialism was revolutionary and so many writers had criticised le difficult conditions of workers ( like Dickens ). WOMEN In the first half of the century women were judged for Victorian morals particularly by writers like Thomas Hardy( care of the family, be a daughter or a wife) and their position changed. In the second half of the century women’s had right to education and financial indipendente, in fact their money weren’t more take by their husbands. Became illegal employ women and children in mines. But their self-realisation always remains the marriage, especially if they’re future husband can grew up their social status, but this was, particularly an illusion that can cause disillusion and ruin. THE CULTURAL CONTEXT In the Victorian age the middle class ( social class most powerful of the period ) take the society to the progress ( because they were the owner of the industries ). The society was optimist thanks to the Calvinist’s philosophy that believe in predestination ( that philosophy take power which the optimist pf the white man that dominate the world)and they thought about their success and prosperity. That was bigoted society, in fact the family was ruled by father, and the values of thus time were: good manners, social and economic improvement and a sense of duty. The language must speak with the correct accent and addiction, because was a mark of class distinction, was called “the Queen’s English“ and stigmatised the mark of the under-educated. EDUCATION At 19 century there was so many typology of schools : Dame school : was administrated by women that live in bad sanitary condition, they had • little or no education and teach to working class’ children that must learn basic literacy.( Jane Air spoke about this situation ) The charity school : was administrated by private individuals, for learn in this school the • children ( that members of low classes ) must take the curriculum that was based on moral and religious discipline in fact many lessons spoke about the Bible and tech them to accept their lowly position in society. Boarding school and college : that teach to children of upper and middle classes to become • the future ruling class ( finance and business) Governess: Governess teach to girls of upper and middle classes and these learn to sing, to • play the piano, to embroider and to be a perfect wife for their future husband and the perfect mother for their future children. After the Education Act the girls can go to primary school and then also college and other schools to can do more professions. THE IMPORTANCE OF LITTERATURE AND BOOKS The importance of education increase the demand of book and there was a new form of alphabetisation( circulating libraries ). Richest families had their libraries and read books become a favourite form of entertainment for middle classes. In fact increased also the production of newspapers, magazine and review that become a vehicle of entertainment and moral teaching in fact became a font of debate for every argument. Fiction, a collection of short stories or a series of novels, i fact the novelist found their magazines ( like Charles Dickens with “Household Words”). In this century so many writers exposed their ideas to criticised the society ( like Matthew Arnold with the critics of materialism, hypocrisy and prejudice of the middle classes ). 19 century can be divided in two part : Characterised by faith in progress and optimistic point of view 1. Characterised by gradual dismantling of Victorian world also caused to the writers that 2. questioned the values of first period of 19 century SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS The improvement of industrial process has happened thanks chemistry and physics, but the real scientific progress doubts their religion beliefs, in fact cause to “principles of Geology” wrote by Charles Lyell demonstrated that there were natural explanations for all geologic al phenomena, and he demonstred that the age of earth was much older than suggest by the Bible, Then the theory of Darwinism , wrote by Charles Darwin, that explain the origins of the species discredited the Bible and so many intellectuals became sceptics. ART During the Victorian Age there was many typology of arts. First of all we have Pre-Raphaelite founded by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and others, they painted against the traditionalism of the royal Academy, they took inspiration by the artists that were before Raphael, their paintings were to be true to nature, with fresh and brilliant colours and used symbolism. Finally they were against the mass-production ( and were defended by Ruskin that produced a mass-production ). Then we have Aesthetic movement where was important the taste, drecorative style characterised by sinuous lines based of plant forms. After we have the development of architecture ( Crystal Palace, railway station,… ). Finally we have Neo-gothic style inspired by Middle Ages that represent the spiritual and artistic harmony. BRITISH LITERATURE The Victorian Age was also called “Age of Fiction”, because there was the major form of entertainment, especially for the middle classes, where the scope of the genre was use the techniques of the realistic tradition. In fact there was also, good fiction (wrote y the authors) and bad fiction (wrote only for money) that spoke about the Gothic tradition with excessive suspense and the repetition of melodramatic clichés. Then the poetry of romantic movement follow the romantic tradition, then wasn’t homogeneous also, for the ideals, but became less popular respect in the romantic period. Drama became less popular respect the poetry cause to the predominance of fiction, in fact were played only well-known traditional parts to not run any risk to degrees of the audience (there was Tennyson and Browning that wrote poetic dramas but they never e played). FICTION We can divided this genre of literature in two main periods. The first period reflects about the faith in progress and optimistic outlook on life of the • age Denounce of evils of his age ‣ The progress is inevitable ‣ Realistic novels to represent life as it really is ‣ the second period of Victorian age • Writers denounced evils implicitly hypocrisy and bad things of industrialisation ‣ Price to e paid for progress ‣ DICKENS He had saw the problems of the industrialisation, he had lived in work home (where orphans and homeless to remove them by streets to give them limited assistance) Denounce abuses of educational, social institutions, inequalities beetween rich and poor • He wrote highly emotional stories ( to keep the attention of readers )— taste of • sentimentalism He focus his work in psychological aspects • The readers recognised themselves in Dickens characters ( for feelings and thoughts ) • He used happy anding • Linguistic ability and memorable characters and caricature • Bitter satire • He spoke about poor classes • THACKERAY Was a novelist that was very representative of Victorian fiction Wrote about satire of middle class • Spoke about corruption, selfishness and lust for money • Irony • He spoke about upper middle classes • THOMAS CARLYLE Had influenced the other authors of the century, he produced pamphlets, essay and lecture. For this reason the another authors wrote “condition of England novel’s” that spoke about social inequalities, effects of industrial revolution ( in north England - industrialised cities ) and of defective institution. Shirley (Luddite riots) • Hard times ( invented cities) • Mary Barton (difficult industrial relations in the cities) • North and South (values of self-made manufacturers against snobbery of country • gentry LATER POETS Kipling: - musical language - tradition or dramatic monologues ( form of speech ) Oscar Wilde: - impressionistic poems - The Ballad of Reading Gaol ( wrote about his experience in prison ) Thomas Hardy: he abandoned fiction for poetry ( he was most famous thanks fiction ) DRAMA The actor-managers played only dramas wrote by Shakespeare, or other dramas that make always success, the actors and actresses became famous and object of admiration and appreciation. the theatre was a form of entertainment for all the classes. The actor-managers building new theatres, replaced the playhouse ( Elizabeth I theatres), in fact it was semicircular and smaller, there was a proscenium ( that isolate the public from the scene - sitting in the darkness ), there was also an illumination ( by gas-light, after thanks to electricity ) and painted scenery and lighting effects. This new form of theatre permits the realism of plays, especially because there were a new plays that spoke about the people that living a real life, in a normal house and doing normal things ( utilising the language spoken in real life NOT Queen’s English ). And the final news was that the playwrights wash paid to stage directions ( became more and more frequent ). HENRIK IBSEN He founded the realistic novels that translate to English, he represented stories about middle classes shake off the suffocating chains of social ties and convention to find their personal freedom and identity. Despite his plays were set in Norwegian, the society look very similar to Victorian England. These tragedies weren’t mythological or historical, but became the representation of ordinary middle class people life using the language of real life,and for this reason the audience can recognise their own in the frustrations and inspiration of the characters : there was an important development of tragedy. GEORGE BERNARD SHAW He was a playwright and was inspired by Ibsen, but he trying to earn to living y his pens, he tried to be a novelist a freethinker, but he earn his success thanks theatre ( became famous for this reason ), in fact emulated Ibsen and using his tragedy style. He attacked the Victorian values, spoke about unpleasant aspects of Victorian society ( nobody never had spoken about it before). He attacked the censorship of plays, the artificiality of London theatre and the reactionary role of theatre managers and critics. OSCAR WILDE He was a brilliant dramatist, and he wrote very beautiful comedies before his homosexuality came public ( for this reason he went to jail ). satire of upper class life • The importance of Being Earnest ( he consolidated the comedy of manners against the • bigotry , hypocrisy and upper classes ) His success derived by the dialogues in tragedies and the humorous caricature of social • types. LITERATURE OF 19º CENTURY BRONTË SISTERS they lived in Yorkshire • Excluded by European’s changes in this time ‣ Imperialism ‣ UK centre of commerce ‣ Innovations ‣ Patrick Brontë • Was a Vicar of Haworth ‣ She survived all his children and his wife ‣ 5 children ‣ 2 girls • died due to tuberculosis who have contracted in Boarding school ‣ 1 boy ( only boy in this family ) • He have contracted tuberculosis aggravated by alcohol ‣ Emily and Anne • Died due to tuberculosis ‣ Charlotte • Complications in childbirth ‣ Brontë’s Family spoke about contemporary’s ideas • Debates ‣ Documentation ‣ bad economic conditions • Branwell Brontë • Became a painter ‣ The only paint of Brontë’s sisters was made by Branwell Brontë ‣ Anne, Charlotte and Emily • They wrote a lot of stories ‣ They created new lands for their stories ‣ Gondal ‣ Little book where they wrote a story ‣ They used a male pseudonym ‣ EDUCATION At 19 century there was so many typology of schools : Dame school : was administrated by women that live in bad sanitary condition, they had • little or no education and teach to working class’ children that must learn basic literacy.( Jane Air spoke about this situation ) The charity school : was administrated by private individuals, for learn in this school the • children ( that members of low classes ) must take the curriculum that was based on moral and religious discipline in fact many lessons spoke about the Bible and tech them to accept their lowly position in society. Boarding school and college : that teach to children of upper and middle classes to become • the future ruling class ( finance and business) Governess: Governess teach to girls of upper and middle classes and these learn to sing, to • play the piano, to embroider and to be a perfect wife for their future husband and the perfect mother for their future children. After the Education Act the girls can go to primary school and then also college and other schools to can do more professions. Forster act: school boards where they decided what they need to do to ameliorate the schools’ conditions , the education wasn’t obligatory and there was a lot of taxes that support the education of the poor ANNE BRONTË she stay in Yorkshire • Wrote “Agnes Gray” in 1847 • She published with her sisters a book of poems • She wrote 2 novels • Died in 1849 • CHARLOTTE BRONTË Work as a governess (istitutrice) • Takes inspiration for Jane Eyre ‣ Went to Brussel • She desire learn language ‣ With Emily open a school ‣ they failed and return in Yorkshire • Wrote Jane Eyre • Wrote others 4 novels • Became friend with Elizabeth Gaskell • She wrote the Brontë sisters’ biography ‣ JANE EYRE Set in Boarding school • She was inspired by her sisters’ experience ‣ Bad hygiene conditions ‣ Religion and moral lessons ‣ acceptance of own social condition • Discipline • STORY Jane was an orphan • Live with her aunt and her girls ‣ She was provoked by his cousin • She went to Lowood School • She met Helen Burns • She died in her arms cause to tuberculosis ‣ Jane became teacher in Lowood school • J. obtains a work in Thornfield Hall as Governess • There was a lot of strange things in Thornfield hall • J. Save Rochester • The owner of Thornfield hall ‣ Cause to a fire ‣ Rochester propose marriage to Jane • During the wedding Jane learn that Rochester already owns a wife • His wife was poisoned in the attic ‣ Jane run away and was employed as governess for 3 boys • Jane learn that they are her cousins • His uncle give her a lot of money • 1 of 3 guys • He proposed to her and asked her if she want go to india with him ‣ CHARLES DICKENS Was born in 1812 and died in 1870 ( high/ early Victorian age ) HISTORICAL CONTEXT Economic growth, but at the same time a lot of social problems • Terrible conditions of work for workers • People asked a political and social reforms • Hight prices for food ( thanks also to corn low ) • People demanding the people charter • Abolishment of corn low • LIVING CONDITIONS Increased industrial cities ( overcrowding ) • Bad condition of life ( airless rooms, bad sanitary condition ) • Pollution of water and of air • Typhoid and cholera ( epidemics ) • CHILDHOOD ( influenced his novels ) At the beginning was happy • His father was imprisoned for debt • Charles must ‣ CARRER He studied law • Became a journalist • freelance court reporter ‣ he documented of social conditions of London ‣ He wrote a lot of articles of London life ( he had success ) • DICKENS THEMES condition of England novelist ( 19 century ) • He described a social issues • Exploitation ( sfruttamento ) of women and children ‣ Poverty and deprivation ‣ Evils of workhouses system ‣ he attacked the hypocrisy of middle class • He wrote about corrupts legal system of Victorian England • DICKENS CHARACTERS memorable because the personages’ names that character reference , are described as • caricatural and exaggerated characters inspired by real people Dickens met in his life • the role of the characters is clear • DICKENS STYLE realist writer • He wrote a tragi-comic novels (was criticised to be too sentimental ) • Comedy ‣ Pathos ( feeling of compassion and pity ) ‣ Language rich and poetic • The theatre had influences his use of lively and realistic dialogues and the drama • LAST YEARS OF CHALES DICKENS has a lot of success ( the public read his works ) • He read in public his novels and act them ‣ He travelled in Europe and in USA ( he makes a tour for his novels ) • Was claimed as a celebrity ‣ He expose his idea against slavery ‣ He died cause to heart attack due to exhaustion • He was buried in Westminster Abbey ( poet’s corner ) • DAVID COPPERFIELD Autobiographical novel • David work in a factory • Theme of ill treatment of children at home and in the workplace ( at the beginning of this • novel) Written in first-person • Had and happy ending ( David married Agnes • STORY David’s mother died • He was entrusted to his stepfather ‣ Mr. Mudstone, he not interested to David ‣ David go in a factory • David go away because he was unhappy • He search his aunt Trotwood • His live get better ‣ He start to frequent school • He find a job • He fall in love with Dora Spenlow , married her, but she died for spontaneous abortion • he married Agnes ( that was a friend for a long time ) • OLIVER TWIST Is important for Dickens • Is an attack to children’s abuses • Is set in workhouse • Then in London ‣ Alternation between tragedy and humour ‣ Is influenced by social reform of this time • Happy ending • Oliver found a home and an heredity ‣ STORY Oliver’s mother died and he remains orphan • He lived in church and after in workhouse • He lived the hunger and ill-treatments ‣ He gained the fame of the rebel ‣ He go away and go in London • Oliver start to is a member of Fagin gang • He steal from Brownlow ‣ Brownlow forgive Oliver and takes him with him • Oliver return in Fagin gang • Fagin gang want steal Oliver’s heredity • Because they learn that Oliver has rich relatives ‣ The scam failed • Oliver start to live in a middle class atmosphere • Like Melancholia of Victor Hugo • THE WORKHOUSES These institutions homed homeless and orphans and provided them a place where sleep, food, job , doctors, medicines, clothes and education. The workhouses where regulated by Mater and Matron that was helped by teachers, vicar and doctors. HARD TIMES Only novel that wasn’t set in London • is set in Coketown • An industrial city ‣ Dickens critics factory owners and the teaching method of 19 century • STORY Gradgrind • Rich retired trader ‣ He trusts only in statistics and real facts ‣ He open a school • He share and teach his values ‣ He teach also to his children ; Louisa and Tom ‣ Louisa married an old banker • Older then her ‣ Arrive in Coketown a young and rich man • He met Louisa and ask her if she want go away with him ‣ She chose to stay in Coketown and speak with his dad ‣ Gradgrind leave his values and he chose to help poor people • EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIALISATION The industrialisation had a negative and positive effects. The positive effects are the progress and be an industrial power, in fact Britains life was totally chanced thanks too the innovations. However the industrialisation had a negative effects especially for poor classes, in fact the condition of job are very bad ( women were employed in brickyards in potteries and match factories where were in contact with sulphur that poisoned them ) and the paid was very low ( because Britain was in a plump moment ) and for this reasons the employees presented to Parliament “The People’s Charter“ that was rejected two times, but after the repeal of Corn Low the job conditions improved . Finally there was a change of government, in fact Whighs replaced Tory and there was an adoption of new techniques in agriculture and for this reason the prosperity farmers increased. LOUIS ROBERT STEVENSON Was born in Edinburgh in 1850 • He graduated in law • He lived in bad health conditions • Phthisis ‣ He travel a lot of to search a health and dry climate ‣ 10-11 years old • She wrote a lot of stories and tales ‣ he published in various magazines ‣ He fall in love with Fanny Van de Grift • He went in USA to conquests Fanny , but he was already married, after the death of his • husband and after married her He died in Upolu in Samoa • he wrote “ In Inland voyage ” • “ The strange case of Dott. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde “ • THE STRANGE CASE OF DOTT. JECKYLL AND MR. HYDE STORY Uttersone and Enfield ( his cousin ) • While wandering they see Jeckyll’s basement ‣ Enfield remember that he saw a person that pushes a baby • girl Enfield ask a compensation for the act • This man firm the compensation as Dott. Jeckyll • An honest man ‣ Uttersone was afraid for his friend Jeckyll • He replied that after 3 month of disappearance, Uttersone must ‣ give his heredity to Hyde Uttersone was afraid that Hyde is blackmailing Jeckyll • Because Hyde had access to jeckyll’s laboratory ‣ Uttersone see Hyde • Dott. Jeckyll reassure Uttersone • Was killed Sir. Danvers Carew • While he went to give a letter to Uttersone ‣ Some proof about murder weapon were found in Jeckyll’s basement • Hyde disappears • No more contacts with Jeckyll ‣ Jeckyll show an Hyde’s letter but his calligraphy was similar to Jeckyll’s ‣ calligraphy Lanyon Hastie Died • He died for shock ‣ Lanyon leave a letter to Uttersone that he must read after the Jeckyll’s ‣ disappearance Uttersone and Enfield while wandering speak with Jeckyll • He go away after a grimace ‣ Jeckyll’s butler ask help to Uttersone because he heard a screams and medicines demand from • basement Uttersone and Enfield saw Hyde died by suicide • Lanyon’s memorial • He died case to shock ‣ He saw the transformation from Hyde to Jeckyll ‣ Jeckyll’s memorial • He explains how Hyde was born ‣ he created chemical that frees that dual nature • Bad and good ◦ He act his unconscious impulses • He remains respectable ◦ He couldn’t control it ◦ Hyde prevails and he transformed himself even during the day • The potion wasn’t anymore efficient for Jeckyll ‣ The solution was the death ‣ TECHNIQUE set in London , but in Edinburgh’s lifestyle • The novel id composed by 10 chapters • 9 chapters ‣ Narrator: Uttersone • 10º chapter ‣ narrator: Jeckyll • the theme is the split personality • Critic to Victorian society ‣ Middle class respectability ‣ Scientific progress ‣ The genre of this novel is gothic • Supernatural elements‣ 20º CENTURY HISTORICAL CONTEXT BRITAIN At the beginning of the century queen Victoria died and ascended to throne Edward VII that was witness of a period of social reforms in the field of education and welfare. After the death of Edward VII ascended to throne George V the social reforms approved in Edwardian period increase the taxation and conflicts in parliament that ending thanks to a Parliament act which deprived the house of lord of the power of veto in financial themes. Trade unionism develop and created a lot of disorders. The first ten years of twenty century was witness of violent clashes between capitalist and labours, in fact police acted against strikers and a lot of them were killed. After there was World War I and ended the illusion that problems could be solved peacefully, in fact had a physical and psychological impact on the britains, and a million young men died due to this war. IRLAND Home rule for Ireland had been a problem since 1880, in fact when the liberal party in power attempted to create a legislation again, the Ulster Protestants, that descended by English and Scottish settlers who wanted union with Great Britain, threatened Civil War. After sedating the rebellion there was the problem of IRA, that was a terroristic group. Soon after the end World War I Britain had to solve another war with the Irish Republican Army that ended with the creation of the Irish free state in 1921, but six countries of Ulster remained under British control. Later there was a Civil War between who wanted the independence of Ireland and who was against. COLONIAL PROBLEMS In twenty century colonies claimed their independence, in fact in the Dominion Imperial Conference in London declared that they wanted be autonomous, but united by common allegiance to the crown and freely associated to the British commonwealth of nations. Before in India, one of the Britain’s colonies Mahatma Gandhi started a policy of non violent protest against British parliament. He protested for Indian’s rights and, at the end thanks him was formed the Government of India act . WORLD WAR II Cause to economic difficulties were founded totalitarianism in Europe and with the ideal that affirm that democracy must be defended at all costs are the reasons why the popular response to World War II was overwhelming. Was called “the people’s war” due to great nationalist sentiment that characterised Europe’s nations in this time. The World War II was fought on a matter of principle for the ideal of defending democracy against totalitarianism. Churchill overcame all the difficulties and gained popular support thanks to a speech which promised “blood, sweat and tears” in exchange for the victory of democracy, and finally took Britain to the victory. THE SOCIAL CONTEXT SOCIAL REFORMS IN THE EDWARDIAN ERA The Edwardian era was characterised by so many important social reforms that established the bases fort he development of the welfare state after the World War IIº . olde age pensions • Was introduced a national insurance scheme • The education act in 1902 that established a system of secondary school education for all • children over 15 years old THE POST-WAR YEARS After World War I economic and social fabric of Great Britain was influenced, in fact there was: Currency devaluation • Heavy taxation due to old the reforms created before the war • Industrial decline due to the updating of machinery and for the increase of the competition • from the new industrialised countries ( US, Japan and India ) There was a depression and a situation of unemployment that increased poverty, hunger and • the trade union activity ( as hunger marches ) There was a tension between the unions and the government ‣ People tried to enjoy to stop thinking about the crisis • After there was the “roaring twenties” characterised by a figure out of shocking and • sensational behaviour WOMEN In this period Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel founded the Suffragette movement. In fact after the war women were reluctant to go back to the traditional role of housekeepers . In 1918 obtained the right to vote for women over 30, and in 1928 over 21. SOCIAL CLASSES Despite the great changes the class system go the Victorian Age remained thanks to economic factors. In fact if the middle and upper classes improved their earnings, at the same time the working class became poorer. The sense of national identity started to crumble and were founded two small national parties were founded in Wales and Scotland that had as their goal the independence form British central Government. CULTURAL CONTEXT MAIN TRENDS In the early part of the century the anti-Victorian trend became an undercurrent of British • literature The lower middle classes imitating the lifestyle of the upper classes and diffused Victorian • values the feelings of supremacy that had supported the optimistic outlook was questioned by the • course of history Economic and military supremacy was challenged in Europe and in the East ‣ Irish question created problems ‣ Women founded the women’s social and political union and started militant action ‣ the sinking of the Titanic symbolised the moment that Uk was living in this moment ‣ The disruptive experience of World was I provoked the death of faith in progress, the social • system and the validity of its institutions The new outlook on life emphasised the individual human being, the individual sensibility and the individual consciousness that were opposed to social order, social values and social ideals. The response of this feeling was the search for new spiritual beliefs ( there was also in Europe and in USA ), in fact people fulfilled their social commitment and rejected the conventions and the traditions or a feeling nostalgic about them. NEW THEORIES The general tendency to question all past values and beliefs start with “On the origin of species” by Darwin, and was intensified by other European theories. The conflict over religious beliefs was deepened thanks the Nietzsche’s studies, he was a • German philosopher and affirmed that god was death . Was a metaphor for the impossibility for intellectuals to cling to old beliefs ‣ The anthropologist James Fraser published his studies about the primitive ritual and Myth, • where he explained that humanity developed without the help of magic, religion and the science. He influenced a lot of works like Joyce’s Ulysses and Eliot’s The waste Land ‣ Sigmund Freud, an Austrian psychologist • described the consciousness and affirm that the past coexist with the present ‣ He utilised a different method to curing neurosis thanks to the free association ‣ Carl Jung continued Freud’s research • He affirmed that a series of mythic patterns are at the basis of our conception of ‣ the world, after he said that this mythic patterns living in our consciousness, and only artist can take this archetypes to the surface Henri Bergson was a french philosopher that introduced the idea of subjective duration of • the special conception Alber Einstein was a German physicist that affirmed for the first time the theory of • relativity MODERNISM Modernism was a movement that questioning the traditional conventions and search new models to represent the new perception of reality. In fact this movement was characterised by the overthrow of traditional artistic convention in music, visual arts and literature. Pablo Picasso With the dislocation of the female body into an angular shapes, challenged the ‣ artistic criteria of beauty and truth valid since the renaissance. Also cinema and photography prefer relativism and subjectivism to realism and objectivity. Thanks to the exhibition “Manet and the Post-impressionists” was introduced modernism in Britain. The discussion of modernism start with Ezra Pound, but the major exponent of modernism was Eliot and Joyce. Was founded a circle of upper middle class intellectuals, called Bloomsbury group, that was a experimental circle that can be linked to Modernism. The name of the group comes from the Bloomsbury house of Vanessa and Virginia, daughters of a Victorian scholar Leslie Stephens. Was a group that shares the same values, they were agnostic and challenged the dominant social values of the period and conventional literature and artistic taste . So many people were part of this circles, like: Leonard Woolf, Forster and the economist Keyness. Vanessa became a painter, Virginia married Leonard Woolf and became a famous writer, and founded with his husband Hogarth Press. The fragmentation of the culture created a deeper fracture between elitist culture and mass culture due to the difficulty of modernist art to put an emphasis on form. Were founded new forms of entertainment like the radio, with the BBC, and the television that permitted to shares novelist like Kipling, and was created cinema with his builds. The new media helped English to became a “lingua franca” of the world. A lot of writers participated to WW1, WW2 and Spanish war, and wrote about refused the political engagement due to a sense of disillusion and impending danger. George Orwell: he wrote “Animal Farm” which he satirise the Russian revolution and Societ • communism. After he wrote “1984” where described a dystopian world, which paints the future under totalitarian regimes POETRY In this period there were two main features: English Sensibility • Take inspiration from existing cultural values only on the English tradition ‣ European Sensibility • Based on their subjects and creative response to the potentially of the English ‣ language. These poets saw themselves as a members of a broadly English tradition (like Dante ‣ and Shakespeare) and were influenced by french symbolist poets (Baudelaire and Verlaine) “ENGLISH” POETRY ‘English’ poets were best represented by Georgians (they wrote during the reign of George V) that dominated the poetic scene in WW1. They favoured English subjects, in fact wrote about rural England and with musical language (like Brooke and Sassoon) Themes: Melancholic themes • Description of nature • Nostalgia for disappearing rural England • Use of conversational language • THOMAS HARDY: Was the most important writer of Georgians, he experimented in form and metre, • and he wrote the greatest love poetry of the 20º century WAR POETS English tradition’s poets were Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, that wrote about the horrifying experience of trenches. One of the most famous war poets is Rupert Brook, that wrote with: Discordant rhythms • Graphic violent languages of everyday conversations • Described physical hardship and misery of soldiers’ life • Anger • Useless massacre ‣ Attacking politicians and propagandists ‣ EUROPEAN SENSIBILITY European sensibility, or modernism, was an anglo-American movement of Imagism. One of the most writers is Ezra Pound, that was the most famous figures of the movement. Themes: Language of common speech • Create new rhythms • Free choice of subjects • Use of precise, clear and concentrated imagery central to poetry ‣ Modernist poets wrote about the modern life of everyday language, with free verse that was less comprehensive, in fact only for sophisticated elite that could appreciate this type of poems. T.S.ELIOT: He developed a personal kind of symbol, in fact he described “objective correlative”, which created the formula of a particular emotion. TRADITION AND INNOVATION YEATS: He take part of English tradition in 19º century in the Celtic cultural background • and was influenced by modernism. D.H. LAWRENCE: He contributed to Georgians and Imagist anthologies, in fact he abandoned • traditional poetic form, and he started to wrote with free verses to express his emotional inner life and its immediacy. He wrote also poems on animal and flowers with symbolic use of nature. POETRY OF 30’ The difficulty to understand modernist poetry explains the reaction against modernist movement of 1930. These poems were characterised by the difficulty for just society against fascism, in fact in poetry political commitment became a common trait. W.H. AUDEN: He took advantages of innovations of Eliot and Yeatsand tried to appeal to • common reader with contemporary political and social issues in a more clear manner. In fact there was a reviving of traditional oral form of everyday languages. After there was the creation of Irish poetry, in fact poetry was dominated by geography and tradition of Ireland. Then there was the Scottish poetry with socialist commitment. NEO-ROMANTIC TRENDS There was a revival of romantic poetry, most famous writer is Dylan Thomas who wrote “the new apocalypse” that influenced by D.H. Lawrence DRAMA George Bernard Shaw wrote so many successful plays where he spoke about the discriminatory power of English language and class system. Russian playwright: Chekhov • Granville-Barker • Explore social and moral problems in realistic tradition, he take inspiration by ‣ Henrik Hibsen COMEDY OF MANNERS In 19º century comedy of manners was associated with Oscar Wilde • In 20º century comedy of manners was associated with Noel Cowed that appreciated by the very • people of middle class VERSE DRAMA T.S.Eliot revived verse drama based on Greek and Elizabethan models. He use also blank verse and used a mixture of historical and modern subjects. Finally he used a chorus like classical Greek tragedy. IRISH DRAMA Was founded Irish literature thanks to the independence. Plays were written by Oscar Wilde and Shaw in 19º century. In 20º century Yeats and: lady Gregory wrote plays for Abbey Theatre, the centre of Irish drama, and then, of the national theatre. Irish dramatic tradition give a realistic picture of Irish life. They wanted show: Real characters • Real situations • Real languages • Many people thought that not give a true picture of Ireland, and there weren’t so many critics for “The playboy of the western world”, in fact was accused of immorality and of insulting the memory of the rebels. CULTURE AND LITERATURE IN AMERICA FICTION At the first decades of 20º century the realistic movement had a pessimistic overtone in naturalistic novels as a survival in society seems governed by a form of social Darwinism. Jack London experimented many literary forms, with “The call of the wild” became a classic of animal literature, and became famous thanks this novel. WOMEN WRITERS Women writers established their reputation with sensitive presentation of female characters. Edith Wharton wrote about mixed form of realism and psychological studies of character. She take inspiration by Henry James. LOST GENERATION Poets that repudiated the materialism of American dream, in fact lot of them moved in Europe, especially in Paris and London, and experimented with style and form thanks to the influence of modernism. Was also important the sense of insecurity of lost generation. Gertrude Stein moved in Paris and became a reference point of able expatriation. Fitzgerald wrote so many stories, novels and films scripts and in his texts spoke about hope and emptiness of American dream( in fact his most famous novel is “The great Gatsby”) Ernest Hemingway take part in all wars of this period. In his stories he spoke about “Hemingway hero” who live dangerously and suffers with dignity and not give up. Hemingway utilised concrete details in his novels and he denounced the commercialism of American society. AFRICAN AMERICAN WRITERS With Harlem renaissance born black literature that spoke about race conscious community and the pride and self assertion. After born black literary journals and black music that influenced white composers. Zara Neale was a black women writer than wrote about black women’s literature. GREST DEPRESSION Due to Great Depression ended the American dream that provoked social problems. J. Steinbeck, spoke about impact of depression in life of common people • Richard Wright, spoke about economic and psychological effects of racism and the improvement • and alienation of black people THE SOUTH William Faulkner, spoke about life of native Americans in modern times, the disintegration • of patrician families in old south and whites cruel treatment of blacks This type of literature used a simple language and complex narrative technique as stream of consciousness DETECTIVE FICTION In this period born detective fiction and developed in popular films • NATIVES AMERICANS LITERATURE This type of literature spoke a bout the genocide of the tribes and American Indian stories. In fact was acted the transition from oral to the written form. Daily routine • Morning: all soldiers had “stand to” in preparation for enemy attack, whew ‣ distributed breakfast rations. one soldier remains on sentry duty • Officer in charge checked the equipment, organisation of duties, reinforcing the • trenches with sand bags Nightfall: repeated “stand to” , the soldiers received their rum issue. They could ‣ move along the trenches for visiting companions and to bringing up supplies from the support trenches. SIW • Is a punishment against soldiers that shooting themselves to be sent home. This ‣ things was punished with the death by firing squad, but none were executed because they did all serve prison sentences. Other soldiers choose to committed suicide because they shooting themselves or they ‣ standing up and be killed by enemy fire WAR AT HOME There was direct and constant propaganda • People at home hadn’t a conception of the horror of the war • POETRY OF WAR There was an euphoria at the outbreak of war due to optimistic and successful campaign • Poets reflected sentimental point of view, in fact England was the liberator against • “barbarity” Pessimistic point of view of bitter and cynical poets that were witnessed of war’s horrors • BROOKE He came form privileged family, in fact he studies at Cambridge and took part a literary circles (like Bloomsbury House where he met Virginia Woolf). In early poems he express a deep love for England and his enthusiasm that led him to volunteer in order to safe guard “English values” In 1915 he wrote war sonnet which he expressed his optimism, idealism and the appreciation of realities of war. Finally he died on the way for Turkey. THE SOLDIER First person poetic voice is a soldier • After the death when the body of English soldier was interred in abroad land, this land • became a piece of England, because england had born him and give him natural landscape, it give him an happy and serene life Two stanzas: • An octave: he talks about the hypothetical possibility of his dying and its ‣ consequences A sestet: he imagines how it will be after his death, he will give back all that been ‣ given to him by his motherland England Rhythm scheme ( ABAB - CDCD - EFGEFG ), he utilised the poetic form of Petrarchan sonnet, • that expressed strong feeling for a strong feelings Alliteration, consonance and assonance: • Sibilants sound ‣ Labial sound ‣ Language is figurative and elegant • Words “England” and “English” reinforce the attention to the homeland • England is personified as a generous mother • WILFRED OWENS Was born in middle class’ family, but he had economic problems, in fact he didn’t go to university. He had a strong Christian faith, in fact he worked as a vicar’s assistant. After he went in France and he give lessons to rich families, then he return in England and finally he was killed in France. Owens was terrified by horrors of war which he was witnessed and became critical of the war in his poetry, in the finals years of his life was hurted and was sent in a hospital, where he met Sassoon, that encouraged him to write his best poems. EXPOSURE Title underlines the dangers to which soldiers were exposed • First line repeated the stalemate of soldiers, with no real progress in terms of winning ◦ grounds Last line in each stanzas is shorter than the others, give attention to a terrible themes ◦ the longer lines create a sense of expectation that isn’t satisfied and give a sense of ◦ anxiety Half-rhymes represent a sense of anxiety and to create a perfect rhyme (ABBA) • Alliterations and consonance • Repetition of sound to slow the rhythm and to recreate the sounds of bullets • The sound of snowflakes give a slow nonchalance • Personification of nature elements • Snowflakes touch faces like the caress of a lover ‣ The smile in stanzas 2 compare the sound of the wind that fit in the barbed wire • Close shutters and doors is a metaphors of the indifference • “We lie out here”, “lie down”,” tell lies” represented the indictment of the war • Misery in the trenches • Because he saw the trenches’ living conditions ‣ SASSOON He was born in upper class’s family • At the beginning of his carrier as poet he wrote mediocre poems • After war he had success as poet, because he expressed cynical and bitter point of view • against the war His poetry is a mixture of criticism , butter humor and satire • He survived the war • In 1916 he wrote “the soldier declaration”, which he attacked the reasons of the outbreak of • the war. This wrote was read in the house of common. The text created conflict against him and for this and was saved from court martial ‣ thanks to his reputation as a war hero, but he was sent to hospital in Scotland where he met Owens SUICIDE IN TRENCHES The protagonist is a simple soldier • He kill himself shooting his head • Stanza 1: recall a happy of young soldier Stanza 2: described the young soldier’s terrible living condition that take him to the suicide Stanza 3: tells the people at home that they don’t know the real horrors of war Language is colloquial and comprehensible • Poem’s sound characteristics are simple and regular • Sassoon’s tone is aggressive, direct and realistic • Role of poet: he was against the war publicly and aggressively • JAMES JOYCE JOYCE’S LIFE James Joyce was born in Dublin in 1882, he attended a Jesuit boarding school and, due to this, he saw the Church as an element of oppression of the Irish people. After university he left Ireland in 1912 and never returned again in his homeland; in fact he saw his exile as the freedom from the paralysis of Ireland. In Dublin Joyce met Nora Barnacle that left Ireland with him; she then became his wife and the mother of his children. Joyce’s family lived in France and in Italy, where he worked as an English teacher in Trieste. When he moved to Trieste Joyce became a friend of Italo Svevo, and helped him with the publication of "La coscienza di Zeno". Joyce wrote in Italy "Dubliners" and was published in 1914. Then he wrote his most famous novel: “Ulysses", that was banned in Britain, but was published in France in 1922 by Sylvia Beach, in fact thanks to her Joyce became well-known. In his later life Joyce started to use a revolutionary use of language, in fact a lot of people couldn’t understand his novels and they didn’t sell well. Joyce’s family often lived in poverty, in fact were helped by friends that believed in his works and in his potential. He moved from Paris to Zurich during the outbreak of war in 1939. He died in 1941. NATURALISM At the beginning of Joyce’s career he wrote in a naturalist style. The Naturalism is an extension of realism, he wrote about evolutionary and deterministic theories. The fictional world of naturalism is described with detachment and scientific objectivity and people’s lives are conditioned by the environment and by fate. ”DUBLINERS“ ”Dubliners" is a collection of 15 short stories, one of the most accessible of Joyce’s literary works that spoke about Irish life at the beginning of 20° century. The stories spoke about episodes of everyday life (private and public), each story would witness of their epiphany, that was a moment of self-understanding of the main character. In these stories was relevant the absence of action in the epiphany that confirm the element of paralysis. The stories reflect an ambivalent feeling that Joyce had towards Ireland. The collection contains 14 stories, but there is a 15° story, called "the Dead", that remained outside the main structure of "Dubliners". the stories are grouped in: Childhood • Adolescence • Mature life • Public life • Hemiplegia: is the word that Joyce used to refer to the paralysis of will, which is the major theme of Dubliners. Epicleti: is the word that Joyce used to refer to his stories of everyday life whose conversion to art he hoped would give readers some kind of intellectual or spiritual pleasure. ”EVELINE” It is a story of adolescence and it starts in “medias res” It centres on a nineteen-year-old who has the chance to make a new start away from her hard life in Dublin.The greater part of the story deals with her thoughts, fears and indecision as she looks back on her life and forward to her new one, far away from Ireland. She considers her life with her father and her younger siblings, her job, her mother and the promise she made to her as she died. She also thinks about her boyfriend Frank and the kind of life she might have with him. Although she reaches a moment of self-understanding and seems to be on the point of escaping... She ultimately suffers the paralysis of will which is typical of the characters in “Dubliners”. Joyce saw this failure to change and rebel as a psychological straightjacket: Family, Church and Society in Ireland. TEXT PAGE 310-311 The extract is taken from the final episode of the book, known as Penelope. At the end of the story, Bloom takes Stephen home and gives him a meal and invites him to stay. Stephen opts to leave and Bloom goes to bed at two a.m. where his wife, Molly, lies awake, thinking about her life and experiences. The protagonist of this episode is Molly and her thoughts: exercise7 p.311. Molly’s interior monologue is a good example of stream of consciousness. There is no punctuation (full stops, commas, apostrophes, hyphens) in this extract. There is no division into paragraphs. Capitalisation is only used for proper names. Sentence fragments, non sequiturs, ungrammatical phrases, colloquial expressions, affirmations and exclamations are frequent. ULYSSES Joyce’s style: Joyce presents the consciousness of his characters directly, without any explanatory comment • Past and present mix in the prose because they mix in the character’s consciousness • The style renders the kaleidoscopic nature of human consciousness • Joyce chooses words not only for their sense, but also for their sound, their quality, • register, tone and pitch, their naturalness and appropriateness. Main themes: The human condition and the subjectivity of experience • Family relations: father-son, wife-husband • The influence of the past on the present: experience and the growth of self-awareness • Parallax: differing viewpoints which help us see and understand things better • Dublin, Dubliners and Dublin life of the early 20th century • Exile, journeying and returning home • VIRGINIA WOOLF VIRGINIA’S LIFE Virginia Stephen was born in London in an intellectual upper middle class family, her father was an important man of letters, with so many influential literary friends (including Henry James). Virginia and her sister Vanessa were educated at home (hers brothers went ti University). FAMILY Adrian, Virginia’s brother, was one of the first followers of Freudian psychology in England • Vanessa became a famous Post-impressionist painter • Her mother died when Virgina had 13 years old, in fact in this period she had her first • mental breakdown. Thanks this family’s influences Virginia start to write with a focus on characters’ psychology. OUTSIDE INFLUENCES Virginia was witness of great social and political changes: The growth of Suffragette movement • The First World War • The rise of European fascism • Virginia was probably sexually abused by his step brother George Duckworth (from her mother’s first marriage), instead her step-sister Stella became a second mother for Virginia that died when she had 15 years old. BLOOMSBURY After Virgina’s dad death, she and her brothers and sister moved to Bloomsbury in London, where they established a literary and artistic circle that challenged conformism and Victorian values and taboos, in addition in this circle women were accepted as intellectuals equal to men. Virgina’s brothers frequented Cambridge University and invited their friends to Bloomsbury, they included also : E.M. Forster (a novelist) • Rupert Brooke (a poet) • John Maynard Keynes (an economist) • Leonard Woolf (writer and political theorist) • Bloomsbury house became a centre of intellectual life THE CAREER Virginia started her literary career as a reviewer for the Times Leonard Woolf. In 1912 she married Leonard Woolf. Her first novel was “The Voyage Out”, that was published in 1915, after a second nervous breakdown. In her 1919 essay “Modern Fiction” she started to change the traditional writing fro a writing experimentation, in fact her principal hope was inspire the future modern writers to write what interested them. WOOLF AND FEMINISM Virginia’s most important feminist works are “A room of One’s own” and “Three Guineas”: “A room of One’s Own”: she affirmed that a woman must have money and a room of her own to • obtain the independence “Three Guineas”: she affirmed that for equal educational and employment opportunities for • women MAJOUR NOVELS “Mrs Dalloway”: she describes one day in the life of a London society householder thanks her • flux of thoughts “To The Lighthouse”: written by the through of thoughts and observations of characters • “The Waves”: her most experimental novel (like Ulysses for Joyce), is composed by a series • of Soliloquies MRS DALLOWAY In this novel the characters, Clarissa Dalloway and her friends and family, were known thanks to her thoughts and prospectives. In this novel there where a parallel story of Septimus Warren Smith, a shell shocked survivor in the Iº World War. In fact Septimus and Clarissa have a similar thoughts, but Septimus commits suicide and, instead, Clarissa accepts herself and lives. THE HOGARTH PRESS Virginia and her husband set up The Hogarth Press, which published not only her own novels, but also works by her friends T S Eliot, E M Forster, Katharine Mansfield, works by many other writers and also translations of Freud. Virginia and Leonard did the type-setting and hand printed the books themselves for many years. They created this press because nobody wanted to read the modernist novels if not the intellectuals. a THE LAST YEARS The outbreak of the Second World War plunged Virginia into deep depression and in January 1941 she drowned herself She left a letter for Leonard: “Dearest – I feel certain that I am going mad again… and I shan’t recover this time… you have given me the greatest possible happiness… without me you could work. And you will I know… I don’t think two people could have been happier than we have been” MODERNISM Modernism is characterised by a mix of the genres: fiction, poetry and drama, together with the new medium of film, become connected. A literary period of experimentation with form, often with socio-political commitment and • expression Influences include reaction against Victorian values, the trauma of World War One and the • growth of feminism WRITING TECHNIQUE She is recognised as one of the major influences on Modernist literature of the 20th century One technique is what she called the “moment of being”, where she investigates how memory works. They are moments that we carry with us and form our personality, important moments. Virginia Woolf and James Joyce (1882-1941) are the most important Modernist authors using interior monologue. • It represents the natural flow of thoughts in a character’s mind. In its extreme form it is referred to as ‘stream of consciousness’ a term was originally • coined by the psychologist William James in The Principles of Psychology (1890) MRS DALLOWAY SUMMARY The novel has no storyline. It opens with Clarissa Dalloway, the central character, going out to buy flowers for the party she is going to give in the evening and closes with the end of the party.Apart from brief descriptions from a third-person narrator, events are seen through the point of view of the various characters. The novel is not divided into chapters, though there are spaces between paragraphs at certain points in the book. The striking of time, however, serves as a sort of framework, as does the setting. The reader mainly follows Mrs Dalloway's consciousness and through her consciousness is introduced to the other characters in the novel whose point of view 1s then taken up to give a multifaceted version of the same event through different perspectives. We get to know Mrs Dalloway's family: her husband, a Conservative Member of Parliament, Elizabeth, their daughter who is under the influence of Miss Kilman, her tutor whom Clarissa hates deeply for her religious fanaticism. Among the various characters related to Clarissa's present or past life, of particular importance is Peter Walsh, who was in love with Clarissa when young and probably still is. He unexpectedly returns to London on the day of Clarissa's party. The reader also follows the story of a character not directly related to Clarissa, Septimus Warren Smith, a man mentally disturbed as a consequence of World War I. He will commit suicide after the visit to an eminent physician, Lord Bradshaw, one of the guests of the party. Septimus and Clarissa share many characteristics and think in the same way. At the same time they stand in contrast to each other. Septimus's choice of suicide as a way to escape his problems will enable Clarissa to accept herself and the society she has chosen to live in. 1984 In “Nineteen Eighty-Four” the state of Oceania is ruled by Big Brother, but it is not clear whether he exists or not. People are ruled by fear: as in Stalin’s Russia, in Oceania children denounce their parents. The job of Winston Smith, the protagonist, is literally to rewrite history. THE MINISTRIES OF OCEANIA Winston works for the Ministry of Truth, which disseminates lies. The Ministry of Love is the home of the secret police, whose job is to terrorise the people. The Ministry of Peace conducts and promotes war. The Ministry of Plenty plans the economy and ensures that most people are starving, in order to keep them down. THE THREE SLOGANS • War is Peace • Freedom is Slavery • Ignorance is Strength These three apparently contradictory slogans maintain the balance of power and the regime’s hold over the people WISTON SMITH Winston Smith, the protagonist, dreams of a time when he can be truly free.His name is significant: Winston recalls Winston Churchill, the leader of Great Britain in the Second World War; Smith is the commonest surname in England. He keeps a diary in which he has written: Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two equals four. People who rebel are brainwashed until they can accept that two plus two equals five. JULIA Relationships are not encouraged in Oceania: Julia is attracted to Winston and approaches him secretly. She tells him that she too wants an end to the brutal regime and is willing to fight for it. They fall in love but they are tortured to betray each other in Room 101. O’BRIEN O’Brien is a member of the Inner Party, the highest level in the state of Oceania. He and Winston become friends and Winston finds him to be a very sympathetic and open person. Winston thinks O’Brien is also against the state. O’Brien is an informer, a spy and ultimately the torturer of Winston. THE THREE POWERS Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia are apparently continually at war with each other, but we do not know if this is true or not. Propaganda on every side goes hand in hand with manipulation of the truth, brainwashing and misinformation. The people are informed through telescreens in their homes, which they cannot turn off and which can see and hear their every move. NEWSPEAK Orwell clearly understood how a dictatorship in control of communications can reduce language to the minimum, in order to manipulate the populace UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ is one of the most important and powerful dystopian novels of the twentieth century. For those in power in Oceania and, by extension, in any totalitarian state, their society can be seen as a kind of utopia. Orwell finished writing his novel in 1948: he thought that what he had written as fiction could well be reality by 1984, so the novel is both a satire and a warning which is still relevant today The novel has many of the characteristics of a dystopian work: It is set in the future and considers the fate of humanity – Its society denies individual • freedom and democracy Negative tendencies of Orwell’s times are magnified • Science and technology are used as tools of oppression – Some rebel and struggle to overcome • oppression VICTORY At the end of the novel, Winston has been broken by torture in Room 101, is completely brainwashed and is sitting in a café: “Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything • was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother”. “As he listens to the news, he reassures himself of both the great victory he has won over • himself and his newfound love for Big Brother”. TEXT ANALYSIS The story is set in the year 1984 (30 years into the future) and the place is London, a city in one of Oceania’s provinces. Big Brother is the totalitarian leader of the ruling political party in Oceania, Winston Smith is an employee of the party in Oceania, O’Brien is a colleague who Winston believes to be a fellow rebel but who turns out to be an inner party member and Julia is the woman that Winston falls in love with and who shares his rebellious views. PAGE 334 The text describes Winston’s visit to Room 101. Winston says to O’Brian he hates Big Brother to make up O’Brian’s mind about his course of action. At the end of chapter 4, O’Brien says Winston must be taken to Room 101. Once in Room 101, Winston thinks back to the different stages of his imprisonment. He has been beaten up, interrogated and kept in a cell. Room 101 is many metres underground in the building and inside there are two tables and a chair. Winston is strapped in a chair unable to move any part of his body. His head is strapped in such a way that he must look directly in front of him. Room 101 is different for different people because it contains the worst thing in the world for that individual. When O’Brien moves to one side, Winston can see a cage containing rats on the table. O’Brien threatens to fit it over Winston’s head and let the rats at his face. Winston’s feelings in the order in which they occur in the text: He is very anxious, puzzled, and curious. He is having a first flash of fear. He is filled with terror. He is desperately trying to reason with O’Brien and rationalise the situation. He is so afraid and full of despair that he seems to be having an out-of-body experience. At the end of the story, sadly Winston is broken and defeated and totalitarianism wins over rebellion Nineteen Eighty-Four has the structure of a tragedy. It is divided into three parts: in the first part Winston struggles to win freedom, he goes against a number of laws and keeps a diary. In the second, the climax or most positive moment, his dreams seem to come true in his relationship with Julia and friendship with his colleague but is quickly followed by the crisis and decline and all his hopes are shattered. In the third, the final catastrophe, he surrenders to Big Brother under torture. Nineteen Eighty-Four has features of a science fiction novel. It imagines the world and events in the future and it talks about technology and experimentation. i Characteristics of the classic dystopian novel in Nineteen Eighty-Four are: It is set in a place where society has taken a path which denies individual freedom and • democracy: In Oceania the ruling political party is the Inner Party and its leader is Big Brother. Big Brother’s rule is totalitarian. The negative aspects or tendencies of society are magnified in a futuristic world and act as • a kind of warning to a contemporary society: the population is kept under control by telescreens in their homes, propaganda and the manipulation of history, language and relationships. Laws are enforced by a ruthless police force, the Thought Police, and anybody who rebels is brainwashed, killed or both. Orwell magnifies the tendencies of the society of his times particularly in reference to the spread of totalitarianism. The displacement into an imaginary future frequently infers that science and technology are • one of the main tools of repression: this can be seen in the use of telescreens and the instruments of torture. The scope is wide and examines the possible fate of humanity rather than criticising • individuals or limiting itself to certain aspects of society: the scope of Orwell’s criticism is worldwide and concerns totalitarian governments of both the left and the right. The emphasis tends to be on the struggle to overcome repression: Winston represents • rebellion but he also represents the defeat of rebellion in this terrifying and dystopian world. Important themes in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four are: The precious and precarious nature of human freedom • The dangers of totalitarianism • How tyranny can destroy the human spirit • Human nature tends to deceit, megalomania and violence against others • The importance of memories, the past and its influence on the present • The importance of language and its influence on the thoughts • Some events in Orwell’s life influenced his view on totalitarianism. Firstly his experience in the Imperial police in Burma, then in Spain during the Civil War where he joined the fight for the Republicans but ultimately became disillusioned with the extremism of both sides. Subsequently he became adamantly anti-Stalinist, and then in the World War II anti-Fascist and anti-Nazi. WORLD WAR TWO The Outbreak and Development of the War In 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany but they did little over the next few months. In 1940, Germany attacked Denmark and Norway and then invaded Belgium, the Netherlands and France. In the same year Germany's ally, Italy, joined the war. In the summer of 1940, Germany launched an attack on Britain from the air. The resulting air battle, 'The Battle of Britain', was Germany s first military fallure. Italy now invaded both Greece and areas of British Influence in North America. AFRICA In Africa, the Italian colony of Libya bordered with the British protectorate of Egypt. At first Italian troops outnumbered the British and they gained ground. However, their progress soon turned into retreat and surrender. Hitler quickly came to the aid of Italy. Under General Rommel, Germany soon captured key positions. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill responded by putting General Montgomery in charge of the Allied forces and in the famous 'Battle of El Alamein' Axis forces were sent into retreat.